PFM Guide?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=127350
Printed Date: November 24 2024 at 22:24
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Topic: PFM Guide?
Posted By: SuperMetro
Subject: PFM Guide?
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:21
| If I were to listen to PFM, what albums should be listened to? I heard that they had a "massive creative burst at the beginning of their career then an ocean of nothing special" from richardh on this thread I made http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=127185&FID=44. |
Replies:
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:33
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Storia di un minuto Per un amico L'isola di niente are the essentials. I don't like the English language versions (some do). I do quite like Chocolate Kings too. My favourite is Storia... followed by L'isola.., but most here seem to enjoy Per un Amico the most. The ProgArchives and rateyourmusic artist/band pages album ratings are usually a good guide to go by, I find. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:35
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The two first: Storia di un Minuto, Per un Amico... and then their third: L'isola di Niente. Stick with the original italian versions. After that, I'm not all that interested but Stati di Immaginazione from 2006 is alright. |
Posted By: SuperMetro
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:38
| What about Photos of Ghosts? |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:45
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I don't like Photos of Ghosts which acts an English language remake. As for Stati di Immaginazione, many people loved it, but I was disappointed at the time it came out and never really returned to it (maybe once). ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:46
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SuperMetro wrote:Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:50
Its been so many years since I heard it or discussed it, but I was thinking it took music from both Per un amico and Storia di un minuto (plus one unique track perhaps). I rather despise that album, maybe in a similar way to how I feel about dubbing rather than subbing films. And it just sounds worse to me when sung in English. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:54
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 09:56
| The World Became the World is L'Isola di Niente plus The World Became the World/Impressioni di Settembre from the debut |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 10:03
I think Celebration off it is at least based on E' festa from Storia di un minuto. But basically it is an English language remake of Per un amico. It is an album I'd avoid (having failed to before), but some do like it. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 10:06
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^yes you are correct. |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 10:13
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I join the chorus saying to privilege the Italian albums and consider Photos of Ghosts a compilation album - not bad at al, and it has the splendid Il banchetto in Italian, but it remains a compilation album, imho. I also think that the first three - Storia di un minuto, Per un amico and L'isola di niente - are the best. Somehow, I also like their live album Performance, which is not very well rated here; it has a much more 80s sound to it, more compact, but quite engaging I think. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 10:31
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I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely. Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 10:48
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Chocolate Kings and Jet Lag have a different vocalist (Bernardo Lanzetti) who sounds a lot like Roger Chapman from Family. Good albums, a bit more removed from the classic early style but still very progressive. Jazzy in spots. Suonare Suonare is another later one I like. Definitely hitting pop territory here, but not quite in full-on 80s mode yet. The drummer starts taking a bigger share of the lead vocals at this point. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: SuperMetro
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 11:38
| I just heard that Peter Sinfield wrote lyrics for Photos of Ghosts. |
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 11:48
------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 11:50
Yes, Sinfield wrote the English lyrics for them at that time. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 11:51
------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 11:53
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 11:57
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Posted By: JD
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 12:10
------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 12:42
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 19:14
| I only have the first three, and I don't expect to dig any deeper. As I understand, those are the better ones, and they didn't actually do so much for me. There are other RPI albums that I love much more, this ones just didn't click with me. Still, there are some things to enjoy in them, of course. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 22 2021 at 19:29
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While PFM, along with the other biggies, Le Orme and Banco de Mutuo Soccorso (my fave of these three) proved to be a great introduction to the worlds of Italian progressive music, and I still love music by PFM, it quickly fell of the radar as one of my major favourites. The Canterbury stylings of Picchio dal Pozzo than became a favourite, and the jazzy Dedalus, Franco Battiato, IL Balletto do Bronzo, Goblin and Fabio Frizzi, and I got into Area which kind of changed my world. And Franco Leprino's Integrati Disintegrati etc. etc. and then outside Prog proper with 60s and 70s Morricone. I do think that PFM, along with Le Orme, and BdMS would be good sorts of introductions to many, but I will recommend to the OP giving Picchio dal Pozzo a try with the self-titled at some time Once you are into Area, you will be ready to be initiated into the not quite inner sanctum of the Maximo Progressivo Italiano circle, and then the fun really begins. ;) And sorry for the digression. Getting back to earlier discussion, maybe those (mostly) English language PFM albums will work for you It partially depends on how comfortable you are listening to non-English language music. If I were you I'd peruse some of the reviews at PA (Prog Archives) for PFM and then jump right in. I think that will be as helpful a guide as asking in the forum unless you have specified specific requirements and tastes.
------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: September 23 2021 at 00:36
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I feel guilty for writing off all their work post 1974 or whatever. I'm not actually a PFM expert by any means but those early albums are so great that its hard to take the later stuff so seriously. Just so its clear they released 4 albums on ELP's Manticore label including Photos of Ghosts and The World Became the World which were basically English language 'compilations' of tracks from the first 3 Italian releases. They are absolutely fine and the sound mixes and performances are good. After they released their first unique English language album Chocolate Kings in 1975. It has a solid rating on PA of about 4.0 (similar to ELP's Brain Salad Surgery album). Its a more technical album but has some great tracks especially Out of The Roundabout. They were doing a lot of touring in the UK and Europe about this time including a performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test which is well worth checking out. The next and last Manticore release was Jet Lag which features a lot more shorter tracks and has a very funky/jazzy feel. The band were moving away from pure symph prog at this time (1977) but then so was the rest of the world! It's not a bad album though although there was a noticeable drop in rating to 3.1. After that its a bit sketchy for the band but they continued touring. According to PA the only album worth getting after that is Stati Di Immaginazione released in 2006. That has an average rating of 4.07 so check that one out. I own the Dracula Opera Rock and Emotional Tattoos albums but can't say that I'm a massive fan of either. Emotional Tatoos came with both Italian and English Language versions so that's interesting at least perhaps.
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Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: September 23 2021 at 01:27
| After l'Isola ... niente. |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: September 23 2021 at 04:16
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Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: September 23 2021 at 04:21
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Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: September 25 2021 at 12:56
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Their live album Cook (Aka Live in the USA). The live version of Four Holes in the Ground is fantastic. ------------- "It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno |
Posted By: Boojieboy
Date Posted: September 26 2021 at 22:14
| I'd start with Chocolate Kings, then get the albums before it. |
Posted By: projeKct
Date Posted: September 27 2021 at 04:49
Recently I did a detailed comparison between the PFM Italian and English albums. You can read it http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=127063&PID=5923682#5923682" rel="nofollow - here . So musically (not taking into account the lyrics), Photos of Ghosts has 3 modified/new tracks (River of Life, Celebration, Old Rain) as The World Became the World only has the re-recorded title track. All in all, I recommend Photos of Ghosts, but feel that The World Became the World is not essential if you already have L'isola di niente.
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